My guest today has long been a world traveler who has had more adventures than anyone I know. He is joining me today from his home in France, a country I very much look forward to returning to someday. He has been a guest before, all the way back when this was still just a blog and before the YouTube and podcast shows. His work has won numerous awards and accolades, including the Paris Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his novel, a Vision of Angels. His 2019 novel THE FOURTH COURIER was also a finalist for Best Gay Mystery in the Lambda Literary Awards, and his 2020 novel FIRE ON THE ISLAND won the Gold Medal in the Faulkner-Wisdom Competition. I could go on, but you get the idea.
His new book, Istanbul Crossing, is the story of a young gay Syrian refugee who, after watching his cousin executed by ISIS for being homosexual, flees to Istanbul for his safety. I’ll let him tell us more about that in a moment. So now let me please welcome Timothy Jay Smith to the Open Mic.
NOTE: This conversation took place before the Nov. 5th 2024 election.
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